Petros wrote:Actually, last night she thought the kitchen was too smoky, opened up to let it out - and inadvertently let the one of our dogs that is always Great Escape minded get away. We got him back, not without work.

New_Adventurer wrote:When the smoke detector goes off, I hope it was your own cooking and not your wife's.

Oh, we share the alarm-triggering duties... but since my wife works full-time in a retail store & my home business keeps me, well... home... I provide most of the cooking, unless she's in the mood to make one of her Bahamian favorites!

Petros wrote:Actually, last night she thought the kitchen was too smoky, opened up to let it out - and inadvertently let the one of our dogs that is always Great Escape minded get away. We got him back, not without work.

That must've been ruff.(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Ramblinman wrote:

Reminds me of the TV commercial for Soresto flea collars... I wonder if dogs are trying to tell us, "You don't need to WEAR that!"

New_Adventurer wrote:When the smoke detector goes off, I hope it was your own cooking and not your wife's.

Try switching to oils with a higher burning point. Not cheap, but might make for fewer smoky kitchens, fewer open doors, fewer dogs on the run.Outdoor grills can become outdoor kitchens with some embellishment.

At my ancestral home, the kitchen was not even part of the house. It was a separate building. If there was smoke (or God forbid fire), the problem was confined to the kitchen.Same with spring house (forerunner of the refrigerator), back yard privy.Bathing was accomplished in a wash tub in a bedroom once a week, or just a freshening up with wash rag and basin the rest of the week.In summer, the creek was the bathing spot of choice. One branch of the family lived on "Pretty Creek", called this because of the beauty of the bathers rather than the inherent beauty of the creek.And except for cold weather, the porch was the main gathering spot, a place for song, stringed instruments, family stories, sipping from the whiskey jug or a smoke.

Folks were only indoors in the big house to sit around the fire on a cold night, hear readings from the family Bible and for sleep.

As for your comment: ".. I wonder if dogs are trying to tell us, "You don't need to WEAR that!"Dogs may not be our intellectual equals, but their common sense often exceeds that of humans.When the weather is warm enough for swimming, it is warm enough for total nudity.Swim tops, bottoms, shorts, all that stuff is just a useless toy best left for the puppy to grab and romp around the yard with.It is obvious to dogs, it should be equally obvious to us.

It is not February 1, June 7 is morwe like. But we have had an offer accepted, and by every indication we should finally have a house. There will be a few things to do before we move - but by the aniversary of our move to Number 1 Son's place we should once again have a house with some very positive features.

It has been a long trail - over three years first to last.

We are praying for a smooth transaction, an easy move, and for a home full of peace under the pines.

The truth, the stark naked truth, the truth without so much as a loincloth on, should surely be the investigator's sole aim - Basil Chamberlain